Benchmark equity indices ended lower on Friday, snapping a five-session winning streak, as a sharp sell-off in information technology stocks weighed on investor sentiment. The decline followed Accenture’s cut in full-year revenue growth guidance and a weaker-than-expected outlook, which raised concerns over global technology spending. Investors also turned cautious amid delays in the next round of US-Iran negotiations, tempering optimism around the recently announced ceasefire and reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.

The BSE Sensex declined 607.08 points, or 0.78 per cent, to settle at 76,802.90, while the NSE Nifty 50 fell 154.90 points, or 0.64 per cent, to close at 24,013.10. Despite Friday’s losses, both benchmark indices advanced around 1.6 per cent during the week.

Dr VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments, said the correction in IT stocks was triggered by Accenture’s guidance cut and the resulting weakness in Indian IT ADRs. However, he believes valuations in the sector are becoming attractive and could draw buying interest at lower levels. He added that improving domestic macroeconomic conditions, lower crude oil prices, moderating foreign institutional investor selling and strong domestic institutional flows continue to support the broader market.

IT stocks top loser this week

Technology stocks remained under pressure throughout the session, dragging the benchmarks lower. The Nifty IT index settled nearly 4 per cent lower at 27,426.85 after touching a fresh 52-week low of 26,634.50 during intraday trade. The index ended the week down more than 1 per cent.

Infosys, TCS, Tech Mahindra and HCLTech emerged as the top losers on the Nifty 50 in today’s session. In contrast, Eternal, Bharti Airtel, Power Grid and Nestle India were among the leading gainers.

Trent and Eternal were top gainers during the week, while Infosys and TCS dragged the most.

Vikram Kasat, Head Advisory at PL Capital said that while the market corrected on Friday, factors such as easing crude prices, healthy domestic liquidity and a positive corporate earnings outlook remain supportive. He said investors will continue to monitor foreign fund flows, monsoon progress, crude oil prices and key corporate developments, including announcements from Reliance Industries’ AGM.

Broader markets continue to outperform

Broader markets once again outperformed the benchmarks. The Nifty Midcap 100 gained about 3 per cent during the week, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 rose 3.2 per cent.

Banking stocks also strengthened, with the Bank Nifty advancing 1.5 per cent during the week.

The defence index emerged as the top-performing sector, surging 6.5 per cent this week.

Geopolitical uncertainty remains in focus

Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, noted that the postponement of scheduled US-Iran negotiations dented hopes of a smooth progression towards a broader peace agreement, prompting investors to adopt a cautious stance.

He added that crude oil prices stabilised in the $75-76 per barrel range as investors reassessed the outlook for West Asia amid delays in diplomatic talks and uncertainty over the pace of normalisation in oil supplies. Precious metals also remained under pressure as a stronger US dollar and reduced expectations of near-term monetary easing weighed on prices.

Investors will closely track whether the weakness in IT stocks spills over into other sectors, along with developments related to the IPOs of Jio and NSE, and foreign investment flows.

Wall Street ended higher overnight, although US markets remained closed on Friday for the Juneteenth holiday. Major Asian markets, including Hong Kong, China and Taiwan, were also shut.

South Korea’s Kospi ended marginally lower, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 index settled higher. European markets were trading mostly higher.

Midcap & smallcap movers today

Among midcaps, Bharat Dynamics, LG Electronics India, Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers and Tata Communications gained 4-5 per cent. Mphasis, Info Edge, Hindustan Petroleum and Blue Star fell 2-3 per cent.

In the smallcap segment, Piramal Finance, Poonawalla Fincorp, PWL and Jyoti CNC climbed 5-7 per cent, while Kaynes Technology, Zensar Technologies, MRPL and Bandhan Bank declined 2-3 per cent.

On the BSE, Garware Technical Fibres and The New India Assurance Company were among the top gainers, surging 14 per cent each. On the downside, Infosys, Bata India and Sonata Software declined 4-7 per cent.

Market breadth remained positive, with 2,224 stocks advancing and 2,002 declining out of the 4,415 stocks traded on the BSE. Another 189 stocks ended unchanged. A total of 169 stocks touched fresh 52-week highs, while 66 stocks hit 52-week lows. Additionally, 10 stocks were locked in the upper circuit and 10 in the lower circuit.

Benchmark equity indices ended in positive territory on Thursday, rallying for the fifth straight session. Sensex climbed 254.36 points to 77,409.98, and the Nifty 50 soared to 24,168.

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Published on June 19, 2026